An Ethereum whale that had been silent for nearly nine years suddenly sprang back to life this week, moving a massive 85,000 ETH — worth close to $250 million — to the Gemini exchange.
According to on-chain analyst EmberCN, the wallet (ending in 168d6) originally accumulated 135,000 ETH in 2017, buying at around $90 per coin through Bitfinex. At the time, that stash was worth just over $12 million.
Fast forward nine years, and the same holdings have ballooned in value. Over the span of just a little more than a day, the whale transferred all of its remaining ETH to Gemini, now valued at roughly $393 million.
ETH Floods Into Gemini
Blockchain data from Arkham shows the transfers happened in several large chunks. The wallet first sent 50,000 ETH on Monday, followed by 25,000 ETH earlier this week. It then moved the final 60,283 ETH — worth about $175 million — in one last transaction.
After the dust settled, the once-heavyweight wallet was left holding just around $70 worth of minor altcoins.
EmberCN estimates the whale walked away with nearly $381 million in profit, translating to an eye-watering 32x return from simply holding ETH for nine years.
The move echoes a similar event last week, when a long-dormant Bitcoin wallet transferred 909 BTC, now worth more than $84 million, after over 12 years of inactivity.
Ethereum Faces Near-Term Pressure
The timing of the transfers comes as Ethereum has struggled in recent days. ETH is down more than 7% over the past week, briefly dipping below the $2,800 level before rebounding. At the time of writing, it’s trading around $2,934.
Analysts point to heavy ETF-related selling as a key reason ETH has failed to reclaim the $3,000 mark. Still, on-chain activity suggests underlying engagement remains strong, with daily active addresses climbing toward 1.3 million.
Staking activity is also tightening supply. Tom Lee’s BitMine, for example, has staked 2.22 million ETH, worth roughly $6.5 billion — more than half of its total holdings. That figure includes a fresh staking of 209,504 ETH, valued at about $610 million, added today.
Despite these positives, Bloomberg Intelligence strategist Mike McGlone has warned that Ethereum could drift lower within its long-standing trading range.
In a post on X, McGlone said ETH appears to be sliding toward the lower end of its $2,000–$4,000 range, which has held since 2023.
“I see greater risks of it staying below $2,000 than above $4,000,” he wrote, “especially when stock-market volatility picks back up.”
